Oke-Onigbin

Oke-Onigbin
—  Town  —
Oke-Onigbin Location in Nigeria
Coordinates: 8°13′0″N 5°0′0″E / 8.216667°N 5°E / 8.216667; 5
Country	Nigeria
State	Kwara State
Local Government Area	Isin, Nigeria
Time zone	WAT (UTC+1)

Oke-Onigbin lies at the heart of and is the major community in Isin Local Government Area, Kwara State, Nigeria. It is mostly inhabited by Igbomina people.

Traditions

The location of Oke-Onigbin formerly called OKE-IGBO was renamed by the then ALAAFIN of OYO after the town paid a homage to his palace with a basket full of snail in dry season. It is believed to have had an abundance of snails, hence its name. "Oke" in the Yoruba language means hill or an upland, "Oni" signifies possession and "Igbin" means snail(s). It is believed that the founder of current day Oke-Onigbin, "BABA AKOO" migrated from another Igbomina settlement known as "Ikosin" due to misunderstanding on the chieftancy title ELEMO to avoid inter-tribal wars several years ago.^{[citation needed]}

Female figure from Oke Onigbin, Shango Shrine

The community has a shrine dedicated to the god Shango, the god of thunder, who punishes wrongdoers and rewards the devout by giving them children.^[1]

The town has a traditional ruler known as Onigbin of Oke Onigbin. The office of traditional rulers in Oke-Onigbin is rotated among the ruling families. When a ruler dies, another ruler is chosen from the ruling family that is next in line according to the history of the town. The current Onigbin of Oke-Onigbin is HRH, Oba Joseph Olayinka (Omolaoye II).^{[citation needed]} Peter Adesina is the Elemo of Oke-Onigbin, one of the chiefs of the traditional state.^[2]

Today

The community has several church denominations including an Anglican church, All Saints.^[3] Also located in a state popular for Islamic Faith, Oke Onigbin boast of one of the largest central Mosques in Kwara State.^{[citation needed]}

In October, 2002, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the candidate for governor in the April 2003 Kwara State elections on the Alliance for Democracy platform was assaulted and five vehicles in his convoy smashed in front of Senator Suleiman Ajadi's campaign office at Oke-Onigbin during a festivity.^[4]

References

1. ^ Gigi Pezzoli (1995). Cavalieri dell'Africa: storia, iconografia, simbolismo. Centro studi archeologia africana. 
2. ^ "Councilors in the 16 LGs of Kwara State charged to collaborate with relevant Agencies". Radio Kwara. http://www.radiokwara.com/communitynews1.php?id=157. Retrieved 2009-11-26. 
3. ^ "CLERGY LOCATIONS". Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion. http://www.anglican-nig.org/xibadanp_igbomina.pdf. Retrieved 2009-11-26. 
4. ^ Utibe Uko (2002-12-15). "The Endangered Aspirants". This Day. http://www.thisdayonline.com/archive/2002/12/15/20021215pol01.html. Retrieved 2009-11-26. 

Coordinates: 8°13′0″N 5°0′0″E / 8.216667°N 5°E / 8.216667; 5